


Your Brain Still Bows To Your Racing Heart

by love_killed_the_superstar



Series: But Beautiful We Three Are [7]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Human, F/F, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Memory Charms, Memory Loss, Memory Magic, Multi, Obliviation, Temporary Amnesia, background Rose Quartz/Garnet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-15 21:46:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17536841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/love_killed_the_superstar/pseuds/love_killed_the_superstar
Summary: 15. “I heard there were no fatalities, so that's good.”“No fat – of course there were no fatalities!” Yellow snapped. “It was a bloody obliviate charm, Lapis! We're not worried about her being injured!”





	Your Brain Still Bows To Your Racing Heart

**Author's Note:**

> So this event was briefly referenced by Pearl in 'Homework Club is Serious Bismuth', but I knew that the memory loss trope is too juicy to NOT then go into depth on how that went down. So here we have it.  
> I'd like to say again that PINK AND ROSE ARE NOT ONE AND THE SAME IN THIS AU. Pink Diamond is Rose's mother, and thus has a different personality, more akin to how she acts in Jungle Moon than anything. Since Rose is Pink's true self, it felt like I needed to differentiate their personalities, so I drew inspiration from our initial impressions of her in Jungle Moon and Your Mother And Mine.

Yellow had never run so fast.

Word travelled quickly around Hogwarts, but never as fast as the night the Crystal Gems were discovered by the faculty. She'd been on the fringe of the land of dreams, mind lingering on the last few moments of awareness when she heard the frantic sound of several Slytherin prefects arguing just beyond the door to her dormitory. The rest of her roommates stirred sleepily, and she bolted upright, listening intently.

“They're all in the hospital wing... Rose has really fucked up this time, they'll have her mother in for sure-”

“Forget about Rose, what about the others? There are little kids in that stupid club of hers, second years, you know?!”

Yellow didn't stick around to hear the rest. She burst out from the dormitory, ignoring the shouts of the prefects, and rushed through the corridors in her bare feet. They were surprisingly busy for almost midnight, but for once the faculty didn't seem to pay mind to the students ignoring lights-out; they were trying to control the chaos, but without the usual threats of detentions, seeming shaken themselves.

Yellow nearly bowled into Blue on her way towards Ravenclaw tower; they fell back against an oil painting, receiving a colourful telling off from the sleep-deprived portrait figure they'd fallen against.

“Blue,” Yellow gasped. “Blue, the prefects, they said they're all in the hospital wing! Pearl-!”

“I haven't seen her.” Blue pushed back her bangs in worry, showing Yellow wide, concerned eyes. “Yellow, I've been looking but I haven't found her anywhere!”

“What happened, anyway?” Yellow asked. She reached for Blue's hand, squeezing it tightly, and in the flurry of noise and confusion surrounding them, nobody noticed. “I didn't hear, just that – that they were all-”

“I don't know. Some people are saying there was some sort of hex that went wrong. Someone else is saying there was a fire. I... I don't know. It's all rumours!”

“We need to get to the hospital wing,” Yellow said urgently. “If Pearl's there, we need to find her! What if she's hurt? What if – what if she's-”

“Yellow.” Blue reached up to grip her shoulders. “Yellow, listen to me. We are _not_ going to think like that. She's going to be okay. Now, come on. We need to make our way there... if we can even reach it at all.”

Predictably, the entrance to the hospital wing was blocked off by exhausted-looking professors, fighting back against a wave of angry prefects.

“My sister was in that dumb club! If she's hurt...!”

“Let me through! If Rose Quartz has hurt my girlfriend she's in serious shit!”

“Damn it. Blue, what are we gonna do?” Yellow cried. “If they're not letting prefects past, there's no way we'll be able to see Pearl!”

Blue frowned, considering their options, before tugging on Yellow's arm.

“Madam Sapphire is over there. She's my head of house, so she'll know me, and her daughter Garnet is Rose's girlfriend. She'll know what's going on.”

Blue marched over to Madam Sapphire, who had just tiredly sent away a distraught fifth year.

“Madam Sapphire-”

“No, I can't let you into the hospital wing,” she said coolly. “Unless, of course, you're sick or injured.”

“What happened?” Blue asked. “Please. Our best friend, she's in Rose's club. Is she okay?”

“I can't tell you if individual students are being held in the hospital wing,” she said firmly. She hesitated. “There was a... bad spell cast. But it was amplified and affected a lot of the students present.”

“What kind of bad spell?!” Yellow demanded. “Did someone catch on fire? W-Was it an unforgivable?”

Madam Sapphire appeared conflicted for a few moments, pondering how much she could say. Eventually, she sighed.

“An official announcement will be made tomorrow, so... we believe it was an obliviate charm.”

 

…

 

Neither of them slept that night.

Most of the school didn't, and classes were swiftly cancelled the next day from all the excitement, not to mention a good portion of the student body being unable to attend their lessons. An announcement was made by the headmaster about holding questioning the next day, although they had a pretty strong idea of how the botched spell casting had come about.

Blue and Yellow had spent the night parked in a corner of the Ravenclaw common room with one of Blue's throw blankets over their legs for warmth. The radio had been playing at a low volume, and all late night study sessions had been discontinued from the ruckus. A good chunk of the students milling about the common room weren't even Ravenclaws – the tension from not knowing what was happening had all houses united in their worry over their friends, family members, significant others. It was strange how crisis could bring the houses together.

Blue and Yellow were jolted from their numb thoughts by Lapis, Blue's older sister, who swiftly delivered a bare-footed kick to the both of their heads.

“Hey. You guys okay?”

“What do you think?” Yellow asked sourly.

“We still haven't heard from Pearl,” Blue said quietly. “I think... she might be one of them in the hospital wing.”

Lapis sat down in front of them, cross-legged, resting her chin in her hands.

“It sure is possible. But I heard there were no fatalities, so that's good.”

“No fat – of course there were no fatalities!” Yellow snapped. “It was a bloody obliviate charm, Lapis! We're not worried about her being injured! What if her mind is gone forever? What if – what if she doesn't recognise us, or...”

As her eyes welled up, Lapis shuffled back on her butt. “Okay. Tears are not my area of expertise. Look, I'm sure she's okay, but if she's not... well, you'll all get through this. You've basically been friends since you could talk, so, you'll just have to teach her everything she's missed, right? It'll be a pain, but she's still here. She isn't dead.”

“You're a shitty motivational speaker,” Yellow said flatly. “Can you just leave us alone?”

“Yellow, she's trying to help,” Blue muttered. She glanced over at Lapis apologetically. “But yes, can you give us some space? It's really... not helping much.”

“Fine.” Lapis rolled her eyes and stood up. “But you guys should know, since they're investigating the Crystal Gems now that everything's blown open, I'm pretty sure they're interviewing _everybody._ If you mention in the interview you're Pearl's friends, they'll probably let you sit with her for a few minutes.”

“Wait, they'd let us do that?”

“If it's a _botched_ obliviate charm, they'll want them to have as much interaction with their friends as they can,” Lapis explained. “They'll want them to keep talking, you know, to trigger memories and stuff? Sometimes it helps recover memories faster, so I think if Doctor Maheswaran has her way, you'll get to see her soon.”

As Lapis departed, with the promise of bringing them back some toast from the breakfast table, Yellow rested her head on Blue's shoulder.

“I know that losing her memory is better than losing her completely, but it doesn't feel _much_ better.”

“I know,” Blue soothed. She ran a soothing hand up and down Yellow's arm. “Trust me, I'm feeling just as powerless as you. Right now, all we can do is wait, and pray that she's fine.”

 

…

 

The interviews took place that afternoon, and Blue, being high up alphabetically on the register, soon made the faculty aware of all she knew about the Crystal Gems, being sure to mention emphatically that she was a friend of Pearl's and wished to see her. By the time Yellow had been interviewed the sun had sunk lower in the sky, and the scents of dinner cooking began wafting throughout the castle from down in the kitchens, a smell the two of them had come to associate with playing exploding snap in the Hufflepuff common room with Pearl.

Blue was waiting outside the classroom-turned-questioning-room with her permission slip in hand when Yellow was dismissed, and just as quickly as she shut the door behind her, Blue was pulling her along by the wrist.

“We don't have long,” she said quietly. “Visiting hours finish by seven.”

After having their permission slips examined, an exhausted looking Doctor Maheswaran pointed them in the direction of Pearl's bed. She was sat up, reading an abridged paperback edition of _Hogwarts: A History_ like every other obliviated student in the wing, presumably to trigger memories of school life. Her cheeks were puffed out a little, as they often did when she was deep in thought, and Blue would have found it adorable if not for the circumstances. At a glance, she didn't look any different than usual, aside from wearing yesterday's creased clothes. But when Yellow and Blue approached her bedside, there was no light of recognition in her eyes as she set her book to one side. Instead, she looked confused.

“You're not Doctor Maheswaran.”

“No, of course not. She let us see you,” Blue explained, sitting down beside her. Yellow hovered at the foot of the bed, watching Pearl nervously. “Oh, Pearl, we've been so worried. Do you know who cast the charm?”

Pearl stared at her blankly.

“You said you were going to stop going to the club,” Yellow spat. “Pearl, you promised us, when you...” She lowered her voice. “When we talked on the roof about our feelings. When we decided we were all in this together, you promised us you wouldn't be in the Crystal Gems anymore. You said you and Rose were done!”

Pearl watched Yellow, brow furrowed.

“...Who is Rose?”

Blue felt her blood run cold. She knew, in a way, the moment they laid eyes on her, that Pearl had been affected, but hearing the confusion in her voice over something so simple...

“Who is Rose? Hah. Only the girl you worship more than the both of us!”

“There's a time and a place,” Blue interrupts. She turns back to Pearl. “Pearl, do you know us?”

“Of course she knows us! She has to know us!”

“I... I know you have... different colour ties to me.” She reaches over and picks up her Hufflepuff tie, discarded on top of the cupboard beside her bed. “See? They're different.”

Blue tugged at her hair, rearranging it so it sat perfectly across her brow, covering her eyes, just to give her hands something to do, a way to calm down her mind as she faced what the both of them had been afraid of most.

“Pearl,” she said as calmly as she could, “We're your... b-best friends. I'm Blue.”

“Like your tie.” Pearl glanced over hesitantly at Yellow and asked, “If she's Blue, is your name Green?”

“No, it's not fucking Green!” Yellow kicked the bed and Pearl flinched as it creaked and swayed a little at the impact. “It's Yellow! Yelena Novik, we've known each other since we were kids! I'm Yellow! Not fucking Green!”

“I'm – I'm sorry,” Pearl stammered, pulling the covers up around her protectively. “I'm sorry, I don't know you!”

“You do know me!” snarled Yellow. “And you know Blue too! We're closer than family, Pearl, we're-”

“Miss Novik, that's enough,” fumed Doctor Maheswaran, storming over to them with her hands on her hips. “I won't have my patients being harassed. If you keep making a disturbance I'll have to ask you to leave!”

Blue stood up, reaching to squeeze Yellow's hand. “Sorry, Doctor Maheswaran. It's... it's just hard seeing her like this, Yellow got upset.”

Doctor Maheswaran's expression softened a little and she glanced back at Pearl, the face of confusion.

“I know. It upsets me too. But I have almost forty others in the same position, I hope you know. I can't be handing out pumpkin juice and handkerchiefs willy nilly.”

“I don't need juice,” Yellow said sourly. “I need to beat Rose Quartz's face in.”

“She doesn't mean that,” Blue interrupted, as Doctor Maheswaran sent her a scowl.

“I should hope not. Besides, that girl has a lot more in store for her than the wrath of fellow students. The faculty is launching a full investigation into this little society, as I'm sure you are both fully aware. The ministry has even been contacted because of the severity of it all.”

Doctor Maheswaran gave them a curt nod, and headed over to where a pack of Ravenclaw boys were throwing every-flavour beans at one of the fellow patients. Blue's hand grew slack in Yellow's.

“Blue?” Yellow asked, noticing the way that Blue had grown pale.

“The ministry are investigating,” Blue said quietly. She pulled away from Yellow, tugging on her fringe, mouth pulled into a grim line. “Yellow, if the ministry are investigating, it'll be the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes getting involved.”

Yellow's eyes widened in realisation.

“Your mother,” she whispered. “She's coming here?”

“Of course, she's the department head, Yellow, she has to make an appearance for a scandal like this!” Blue ran her fingers through her hair, shuddering. “I... I need to warn Lapis.”

Yellow nodded, swallowing thickly.

“Yeah, you do. I'll stay here with Pearl.”

Blue approached Pearl's bedside once more, glancing back to make sure she wasn't being watched, before ducking down and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“I have to go, but I'll come back when they next let me,” she promised. “Please try and remember us.”

Pearl stared up at her, awestruck, and Blue offered her a quick, sad smile before turning on her heels and marching with frantic purpose out of the hospital wing.

“Is she all right?” Pearl asked, as Yellow sat down beside her. She reached to take Pearl's hand and squeezed.

“She'll be okay. It's just... things are complicated with her family. You'll remember the finer details in time. Or I hope you will.”

Pearl stared down at their clasped hands.

“I'm sorry I made you angry,” she said in a small voice. Guilt washed over her.

“No, I'm sorry, you... it's not your fault, Pearl. It's Rose's. And believe me, she'll be sorry.”

 

…

 

Ms Bermet arrived on Hogwarts grounds at precisely ten the next morning, along with several members of the Accidental Magic Reversal Squad and the head of Obliviators. Along with her came a chill that swept throughout the already cold stone corridors of the castle, and Blue could have sworn she saw twice as many students bundled up in their house scarves than usual that morning. Business was carried out swiftly while Blue attended morning classes, feeling sick with dread as each hour passed. The only small mercy was sharing potions and charms with Yellow, who reached over more than once to squeeze her hand in sympathy, uncaring of who was watching.

During the lunch hour, the ministry specialists dined at the faculty table, and Blue felt the eyes of her mother watching her carefully, as well as seeing Yellow watching reproachfully from Slytherin's table, not daring to sit with Blue as she usually did. She knew when to pick her battles, after all. Lapis had chosen this particular day to sit beside Blue, despite their usual habits of mostly avoiding one another, and Blue couldn't tell if it was an attempt to comfort her or to play the front of caring older sister in their mother's presence.

After finishing eating, their mother approached the table.

“My darling daughters,” she said softly. “Lapis, Blair. I haven't seen you since Christmas, and I've only received a single letter. It's good to see that you are doing well.”

She was playing her own role, a caring, dutiful mother, and it made Blue's stomach churn. Still, she stood, and was pulled into a stiff hug. Lapis remained seated, watching the interaction coldly.

“I'm sorry for not writing sooner,” Blue said meekly. “I was planning on sending one next week, after I receive my mark back on my latest transfiguration exam.”

“As long as you haven't forgotten the mother who has given you so much,” her mother replied, gracefully detaching Blue from her person. She narrowed her eyes at Lapis. “You haven't written to me since last year.”

“I've sent letters,” Lapis said lamely. “Must have gotten lost on the way. Owls can be unreliable.”

Ms Bermet huffed, but didn't press the issue further.

“I have been very busy with this duelling club situation. My dear friend Pink has been very upset, as I'm sure you can imagine.”

“Rose is the _reason_ for this whole situation,” Lapis pointed out. “She's being punished for it, isn't she?”

“There will be consequences, but a young lady's place isn't to meddle in the business of others,” their mother answered coldly. She turned on Blue. “I'm relieved that you weren't involved in this business, but I understand that Pearl was affected by the obliviate charm. I have already notified her mother.”

Blue felt her stomach drop.

“Ms Bisera knows?”

“And she was very worried, of course. I promised I would check up on her daughter. I'm sure the two of you can escort me to the hospital wing so that I can pay her a visit before continuing my work ironing this situation out after the lunch hour.”

“I have a lunch time practice,” Lapis said flatly, rising from her seat. “Quaffles aren't gonna throw themselves.”

Their mother rolled her eyes.

“I don't know why you waste your time on such a rowdy, juvenile game.”

“I like it,” was her plain response.

Their mother didn't waste time arguing, and led Blue out of the great hall. She floated through the halls like a steel ghost; frail and flowing, but with the kind of cold presence that made Blue feel like she was wading through ice waters to keep pace with her.

Pearl's eyes lit in recognition when she caught sight of Blue, but her eyes grew fearfully wide when staring up at the overbearing presence of Ms Bermet.

“Blue tie,” she whimpered, looking over at Blue.

“Pearl, this is my mother,” Blue said softly.

“A ghost,” Pearl whispered.

Blue's mother narrowed her eyes.

“Pearl. You've been breaking the rules, haven't you?”

“I... I don't know what the rules are,” Pearl uttered, sounding frightened. She glanced over at Blue again.

“You will. The effects aren't permanent, we've been informed. And when your memory has returned, your mother will pen a strongly worded letter about this little hiccup. She didn't raise you with such disobedient values, and I won't stand passively by while you show her up. In the magic world, you _represent_ her, do you understand me?”

Pearl shook her head.

“I don't understand anything. I don't know what the values are, I-I don't know who Mother is.”

Ms Bermet took a step forward, and Pearl shrank back in her bed.

“You need to reflect on your actions, child.”

“Is there a problem here?”

Doctor Maheswaran bustled over to Pearl's bedside, and Ms Bermet took a step back.

“Not at all,” she said icily. “I am a dear friend of her mother's. I was simply wishing her well.”

“We take good care of our students here at Hogwarts,” Doctor Maheswaran said firmly, a slight edge to her voice. “So there is no need to worry. Miss Bisera is already on the mend. In fact, I've come to give her a dose of memory potion now.”

Blue's mother sniffed.

“Well. The meeting will be resuming soon, so I will be leaving now. The ministry is depending on me to do my best for the school, after all.”

“And my patient is depending on _me_ to do the best by _her._ So if you'll excuse us...”

Doctor Maheswaran wasn't backing down, and Ms Bermet scowled, before turning back to Blue.

“My dear Blair-”

“Blue,” Pearl bleated, reaching out a hand for her.

Blue glanced between the two of them, torn.

“Pearl, do you want Miss Bermet to stay?” Doctor Maheswaran asked knowingly.

“I want Blue,” she uttered, eyes trained pleadingly on Blue.

“Well, I'm not here to coddle her,” Blue's mother sniffed, hair swaying out behind her as she turned. “I have somewhere to be.”

Blue ducked her head, tugging on her fringe anxiously as her mother swanned out of the hospital wing. Dazed, she took a few steps, lowering down onto the seat beside Pearl's bed.

“Sorry,” she said, to both Pearl and Doctor Maheswaran. “My mother can be, um... well...”

“She's a strong woman,” Doctor Maheswaran remarked. “But there is no place for antagonising patients in this hospital wing. I don't condone it. My priority is to ensure a speedy recovery and that's impossible when the patients are distressed from external factors.”

“Well put.”

Doctor Maheswaran smiled a little, before measuring out a tumbler of memory potion and handing it to Pearl. “All right, dear, drink up.”

Pearl looked down in dismay.

“But it tasted awful last time,” she whined.

Doctor Maheswaran rolled her eyes as Blue suppressed a snort of laughter into her hand.

“Now, now, it might not be butterbeer, but it's far from the worst-tasting medicine in my cupboard, so don't try me. One stiff swig of that will have your brain on the mend in no time.”

“I'll be sick,” Pearl protested again.

“You won't, I've learned by now to incorporate an anti-emetic solution to the medicine recipes our potions department prepares for us. It saves me a lot of time and resources.”

Firm as she had been with Ms Bermet, Doctor Maheswaran wasn't backing down, and Blue reached to squeeze Pearl's arm.

“There's no use fighting it, you need to recover your memories. It'll go down easier if you just hold your nose, though.”

Shuddering, Pearl did so, and reluctantly knocked back the medicine, face screwed up in disgust as she swallowed. Doctor Maheswaran shook her head fondly.

“There. That wasn't so hard, was it? Now, no dallying and being late for your next lesson, Miss Bermet. I expect you to be on your way in the next ten minutes.”

Doctor Maheswaran moved on, and Pearl placed the glass on her bedside table, still grimacing.

“That was vile. Absolutely vile. Almost as bad as that time Yellow dared me to eat that earthworm flavoured bean...”

Blue's eyes widened.

“Wait, you remember that?”

Pearl paused for a moment before turning to Blue, startled.

“I do! I do remember! And it was disgusting!”

“Oh, Pearl!” Blue pulled her into a tight hug, and as an afterthought, added, “Yellow is going to be so chuffed you remembered her name this time, too.”

Pearl winced.

“Oh, I made her so angry, didn't I?”

“It's okay. She'll get over it.”

Blue pulled away and pressed a quick kiss to Pearl's lips, grimacing as she tasted the residue of bitter medicine on her lips.

“Ew, you're right, this is abysmal. Although... I _am_ starting to remember what I had for breakfast this morning...”

Pearl stared at her, cheeks flooding with red as her hand reached up to her mouth. Blue, realising the weight of this development on Pearl's confused brain, mentally kicked herself.

“Sorry. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-”

“No! I liked it!” Hands cupping her pink cheeks, Pearl asked, “D-Do we do that a lot?”

Blue shrugged, glancing around. Two other patients in clear view of Pearl's bed were both nose-deep in _Hogwarts: A History_ , oblivious to their earlier kiss.

“Well, it's still kind of... new, but we've done it a few times.”

Pearl leaned a little closer, reaching to tangle their fingers together.

“I... I can't remember much at all,” Pearl admitted. “Just that we're friends. And I like you.”

“It's better than nothing,” Blue said firmly. “And for the record, I really like you too.”

The smile that lit up Pearl's face was enough to warrant another stolen kiss, before Doctor Maheswaran came to send Blue back to class.

 

…

 

That night, Yellow found herself unable to sleep, so she decided to go somewhere quiet to think. The seventh years were up in the common room cramming again, while one particularly distraught prefect was crying over a failed transfiguration assignment. A terrible atmosphere for brooding over the events of the last couple of days, that was for sure.

The library was already locking up, and after failing the riddle to enter Ravenclaw Tower to see Blue, the only other place to go was up. Yellow slipped between the corridors under the cover of darkness, knowing each turn well enough to avoid drawing attention to herself by casting a light charm and blinding the oil paintings all around her. Madam Sapphire was dismissing a class of bleary-eyed first years from their astronomy lesson, retreating down to the teacher's quarters herself, and Yellow climbed the stairs with haste, coming out on the rooftop.

To her surprise, she found Rose Quartz at the top of the astronomy tower, sitting in the spot she'd found Pearl a year earlier, staring out at the Scottish moors as the bitingly cold night air froze time around them. Rose's legs dangled over the edge, and she was holding a lit cigarette dwarfed by her large hands.

“You gonna jump, or what?” Yellow asked flatly. Rose flinched, but didn't bother turning around.

“You gonna push me?” she asked instead, equally as bitter.

“As if. You know how many charges I'd be slapped with for pushing precious Rose Quartz to her death? The whole wizarding world would be after my head.”

Rose laughed, but it wasn't a happy sound.

“I doubt it, after what's happened.”

Well, self-deprecating Rose Quartz was a side of her that Yellow was woefully unacquainted with, and she wasn't sure what to do. So she took a seat beside her.

“Well, are you surprised? You kind of caused a major catastrophe that fucked with half the student population. A bunch of people are in the hospital wing, including Pearl. So don't go feeling sorry for yourself when _you're_ fine while so many others aren't.”

“Don't tell me how to feel,” Rose said dully, taking a drag. She looked tired up close, exhausted by the trials of the last few days. “I didn't cast the charm, all right? I wasn't even in the room, I-I just stepped out to get a moment alone with Garnet, but when I came back... it was like being in a room with zombies. They just stared at us.”

“It was your responsibility to make sure things were running smoothly,” Yellow spat. “I hate your little club! I can't stand it! But I figured at least you were trying to run it properly instead of just taking the piss!”

“Well, you don't have to worry about it anymore, Novik,” Rose snapped. “They're shutting it down and keeping me under lock and key until the end of the year, pretty much. No Hogsmeade. No Quidditch. No sneaking around. They're even having prefects posted outside the room of requirement, so... the Crystal Gems are disbanded. Our club's over.”

“Well, good. Because trying to control that much magic without professors present is just ridicu-”

“God, shut up! I heard it all already from the faculty, there's nothing new for you to add that hasn't been drilled into me already.” Rose stubbed out the cigarette against the wall, and then dropped it over the edge. Yellow watched it grow smaller and smaller until it disappeared into the dark below them. “I just wanted to do something important, you know? Make a change. Something meaningful, something that people could look back on fondly. Proudly. Now it's just a big joke.”

“It was always a big joke,” Yellow deadpanned. “Look – I don't like you. We don't get along. But Pearl is my... my friend.”

“I know. She talks about you and your Ravenclaw friend a lot.”

Yellow straightened her shoulders.

“Well, good. She talks about you a lot too. She thinks you can do no wrong. But now we both know that isn't true.”

“Yes. You've hit the nail on the head, Novik. I'm evil. I'm evil, and cruel, and I definitely planned to cause this great disaster that ended the club and hurt people who I consider my friends! All of that was intentional!”

Rose turned to glare at her, and Yellow stared her down coldly.

“Do you ever listen? It doesn't matter if you meant for it to happen or not. It happened. And now all your friends – including _my_ friend – have no idea who they are.”

“Yes. It happened. And now I'm dealing with the consequences of it all.” Rose looked away quickly, reaching up discreetly to wipe her eyes. “I'm being suspended, if you must know. For a week. A week with my mother, well, it's absolutely hellish.”

“Can't be worse than my own mother,” Yellow muttered to herself.

“Well, _you_ might actually get it. You can imagine what she's like, your mother and mine are both ministry types. So wrapped up in her fucking job, yet still too fucking childish to even discipline me. She just... she just _cries._ She has a tantrum, crying and yelling and throwing things around, stamping her feet. She's like a god damn toddler, stomping around in her dumb pompom slippers cursing me and my sisters and our good-for-nothing father and anyone else she can think of. How am I supposed to get anything done with her screaming in my ears, huh? I have my NEWTs to be studying for!”

Yellow felt her chest tighten.

“...My mother will – hit me. If she's angry.”

The admission was unlike anything she'd ever said aloud before. Blue and Pearl had always known, so it had never needed to be said. Rose Quartz was a stranger, an indecipherable girl who made Yellow mad every time they were alone together. But in that fleeting moment, it felt as though they had some common ground, perhaps for the first time in their lives.

Rose turned to look at her, eyes softened with sadness.

“Yeah. I... I figured she was physical with you. You hate being touched by anyone besides Pearl and your Ravenclaw friend, so...”

“I still can't believe you told Pearl about that incident when I was in first year,” Yellow said bitterly. Rose winced.

“Sorry. But it _was_ pretty amazing hearing about how you attacked that guy. At the time I thought it was something she'd already heard about, but... over time I started putting the pieces together. I realised what an ass I'd been about it, but it was too late by then. I never apologised to you, so... sorry.”

Yellow huffed.

“I don't have to accept that apology, you know.”

“I know. You hate being around me anyway, so we don't even need to be civil to each other, but I still owe it to you that I regret what I did.”

Yellow stared out at the darkness, the fury in her heart having reduced to a simmer of frustration instead.

“We're never going to be friends.”

“I figured that much.”

“But I do appreciate that you're sorry. And that you probably didn't intend to brainwash an entire portion Hogwarts' population.”

“I swear I didn't. We haven't even been teaching obliviate, so I don't-”

“I was talking about roping everyone into your little rebellion club, actually.”

“Well, a lot of people at Hogwarts have their prejudices. I'm sick of the M word being tossed around like it's nothing. So yeah, maybe I did go overboard in roping people into my club that preaches love and acceptance, but I'm not about to apologise for that. A lot of kids here don't even know how hurtful they're being until someone else points it out, me included. We're always learning to be better or worse, every last one of us.”

Yellow rolled her eyes.

“You're such a fucking hippie.”

Rose smirked.

“Thank you. I try.”

 

…

 

“Well, looks like you have some bodyguards ready to escort you back to your dormitory,” Doctor Maheswaran said with a knowing smile, holding out a small brown bottle of memory potion. Pearl smiled back, taking the bottle from her and slipping it into her satchel.

“Well, we can't have her forgetting where the common room is,” Yellow drawled.

“Or tapping the wrong barrel and getting a vinegar shower,” Blue added with a grin.

“Indeed. Well, you've been responding well to the treatment over the course of the week. If you keep taking the potion for the next three weeks, there should be no lasting damage, besides being unable to recall the night of the charm being cast. But if you experience any tension headaches, impaired vision, or nosebleeds, be sure to report back to me at once, am I clear?”

“Crystal,” Pearl promised. “Thank you for everything, Doctor Maheswaran.”

Yellow reached to wrap an arm around Pearl and the two of them led her away as Doctor Maheswaran began to change over the bedsheets.

“Now listen up,” Yellow began, as they exited the hospital wing. “Don't you ever give us a scare like that again, you hear me?”

“I won't,” insisted Pearl. “I mean it, Yellow. I'm... I'm sorry for everything, I know it must have been scary for you.”

“It was terrifying,” murmured Blue.

“I know. I'm sorry your mother was called in because of it.” Pearl reached down to squeeze Blue's hand. Blue smiled faintly and pressed her head against Pearl's for a moment.

“She's not talking about that,” Yellow huffed. “Losing _you_ is terrifying. For both of us. So please, no more duelling. And no more Rose.”

“We barely even talk these days as it is,” Pearl retorted, rolling her eyes. “But I promise you, no more duelling at least.”

As they started down the grand staircase, Pearl stopped in her tracks. Rose Quartz of all people was stood in the foyer, holding hands with Garnet Aberra, who leaned down to whisper something in her ear as the trio uneasily descended. Garnet pulled Rose into a tight hug and pecked her forehead lightly before beginning to walk away, heading in the direction of the grounds. Rose watched after her, visibly deflated, and Pearl noticed the suitcase by her feet.

“Rose?” she called, moving a little faster, with Blue and Yellow belatedly changing pace to keep up with her. Rose's head shot up, and she shuffled uncomfortably as Pearl approached her side.

“Oh. Hi, Pearl. How are you feeling now?”

“Much better. I'm pretty much back to normal, that's what Doctor Maheswaran said,” gabbled Pearl. She glanced down at the suitcase again. “Rose, are you... going somewhere?”

Rose smiled weakly.

“I've been suspended for a week. I'm just waiting for the signal and I'll be escorted to the head's office to be floo'd home.”

Concern flooded Pearl's face.

“But... Rose, your mother...”

“It won't be so bad,” Rose reassured, her face showing no signs of the despair that she had expressed to Yellow that night on the roof. “Just a week of apologising and keeping my head down, and I'll be right back here and causing more mischief, just you wait. Hey, did I ever tell you I'm talented in the art of juggling?”

Pearl raised her eyebrows.

“Juggling? Now this you'll have to show me some time.”

“Miss Quartz! The head will see you now!”

At the prefect's obnoxious call, Rose rolled her eyes.

“Well, I suppose I'm off. Listen... I really am sorry about what happened. And I'm sorry the club is being disbanded, too.”

“It's not your fault,” Pearl said firmly. “But, you know... maybe next time, make it an official club?”

“I think my duelling days are over,” sighed Rose, hoisting up her suitcase. “My grades have been slipping for a while so I need to focus, and Madam Ruby said if I'm lucky and stay out of trouble I might be let back on the team next month. But hey! Who knows, maybe you can take the reins. You're a real talented duellist, Pearl – own that.”

Pearl's face flushed with pride and she nodded hurriedly. Rose's gaze met Yellow's as she moved past them, and Yellow nodded slightly, mouth set into a grim line. She was a far ways from considering Rose Quartz a friend, but... for now at least, she was willing to cause a truce.

Blue, meanwhile, couldn't stop grinning, and reached over to muss up Pearl's hair as Rose climbed the staircase and out of earshot.

“Did you hear her, Yellow? Our girl, putting the mighty Rose Quartz in her place – telling her to make the Crystal Gems official! Did you ever hear such bravery?”

“Stop,” groaned Pearl, lightly pushing her away. “I wasn't putting anyone anywhere! I was just saying, you know, rules and safety regulations are there for a reason, and-”

“Maybe next time, make it an official club,” crooned Blue gleefully, and Yellow burst out laughing as Pearl stomped a few paces ahead, fuming.

“I wasn't being salty!”

“I don't know, I definitely tasted some salt,” Yellow remarked, speeding up until the three of them were in step together once more, slinging their arms around Pearl and giggling helplessly.

“You know I don't even remember why I like you two so much.”

“Hey, given the events of this week, it is _way_ too soon to be joking about that!”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Y'know, at 6k words, this may be the longest polypearls fic yet! :0  
> Anyway, Yellow's a bitter old fuck so ofc she's still gonna hate RQ after this don't go mistaking this for an end to their feud she holds this grudge into their fucking TWENTIES


End file.
